
Novelis is advancing beverage can coating testing and research resulting from its long-standing relationship with the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Researchers from Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, working in collaboration with Novelis, have developed advanced testing capabilities that significantly reduce the time required to evaluate how beverages interact with protective coatings inside aluminum cans. The new approach allows researchers to collect data throughout the testing process, providing a clearer picture of how coatings perform while reducing testing cycles from months to just weeks. For beverage makers, faster testing could mean faster decisions about packaging and ultimately help shorten the time it takes to bring new products...
Hindalco Industries is pursuing a major capacity expansion programme, with around INR 500 billion (USD 5.3 million) worth of projects under execution in India and another INR 500 billion (USD 5.3 million) of potential investments under evaluation over the next five years. The planned investments cover aluminium, alumina and copper production, downstream operations and captive mining, as the company prepares for rising domestic demand. India's aluminium demand is expected to grow by around 7 per cent annually over the next five years, according to Hindalco management. While the electrical sector remains a key driver, demand from automobiles, packaging, consumer electronics, home appliances and data centres is also gaining importance. Hindalco is looking to increase the share of...
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Amafond and Indo Italian MilanHub (IIMH) have promoted a meeting with the new Consul General of India in Milan, Dr. Binoy George, on Monday 25 March. Amafond is Italy's leading industrial association for aluminum machinery, innovative metal and the foundry sector. Many of its associated companies have long been working with India in the metallurgy industry. Amafond was among the supporters of the Indo-Italian Metal Hub platform, promoted by ArtValley and IIMH, which promotes the interchange between the two schools and their industrial sectors. In this platform the executive program The Aluminium Innovation Manager, to be held next summer in close cooperation between ArtValley, CUOA, AAI, IIMH,Al Circle, A&L and the associations Amafond,Assomet, AIFM, Assofond. The companies involved are...

Canyon Resources Limited’s Managing Director Philip Gallagher has reportedly confirmed that the existing Camrail rail network located adjacent to Minim Martap Project is capable to transport commercial tonnages of bauxite to Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. This he confirmed after completing an initial independent assessment. An assessment has also been carried out on the proposed rail extension from Douala to the Kribi Deep Water Port in order to ensure ground conditions. Canyon’s managing director Phillip Gallagher said: “A logistics solution is a crucial component of the Minim Martap Bauxite Project and we are pleased with the very positive feedback from this assessment of the existing rail infrastructure, in particular, that ongoing maintenance and upgrade works are underway.”...

Hydro said that its Extruded Solutions business was back up to 60 per cent of capacity on Monday. Its Extruded Solutions has ramped up production at several sites, and is concentrating all available resources on enabling further restarts. The division was running at 50 per cent capacity on Friday. “Extruded Solutions is expecting to reach an overall production rate of 60 percent by Monday. The business area is concentrating all available resources on enabling further restarts during the coming days to allow for continued deliveries to customers, Hydro said. Hydro said its Building Systems unit was affected the most by the cyber-attack. The company is expecting to slowly ramp up production and shipments during the week. “I’m pleased to see committed colleagues across Hydro working with...

Airbus has recognised Alerts, a leading aluminium rolled product manufacturer with the accredited supplier award for the second year in a row. Airbus honoured its supplier during its Supply Chain and Quality Improvement Program (SQIP) event at Toulouse, France. Aleris fulfilled the maximum requirements for excellence as a supplier. "We are proud to have achieved the status of Accredited Supplier for 2018, the highest supplier distinction, for the second time," says Dr. Ingo Kröpfl, Aleris vice president Global Aerospace. He added that the award encouraged them to work harder to maintain this level of performance in future. Aleris won the Best Performer Award in 2015 and 2016 and followed that with Accredited Supplier Award in 2017 and 2018. Aleris manufactures plates, sheets and cut from...

The US dollar traded lower as the US government bond yields extended their decline from last week on fears of slower global growth. Base metals ended mixed and both LME and SHFE aluminium dropped overnight. LME registered the third consecutive loss yesterday to close at US$1856 per tonne after the contract reached its highest last week after the news of cyber-attack on Hydro. Given limited upward momentum, LME aluminium slid after it increased to the highest overnight at US$1,899 per tonne. The contract is likely to trade at US$1,840-1,900 per tonne today. As on March 25, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1855.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1856 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1886 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1887 per tonne; Dec...

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a further decline today, on March 26, to RMB 13,950 per tonne. Yesterday the price was at RMB 13,970 per tonne, which represents that today the price has dropped by RMB 20 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between 13,930 per tonne and RMB 13,970 per tonne, with spot premium to settle at RMB 310 per tonne to RMB 350 per tonne. The aluminium ingot price in the east (Wuxi and Hangzhou) has plunged by RMB 15 per tonne and RMB 25 per tonne to settle at RMB 13,945 per tonne and RMB 13,975 per tonne, respectively. The aluminium ingot price in the south has dropped by RMB 15 per tonne to RMB 13,960 per tonne while that in the north has slipped by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 13,920 per tonne. As far as...

Hydro announced that the company has acquired remaining 50 per cent of Technal Middle East (TME). Based in Bahrain, Technal Middle East supplies tailor-made aluminium building solutions in the Middle East. Egil Hogna, Head of the Extruded Solutions business in Hydro said: “This acquisition will strengthen Hydro Building Systems in Asia where the market growth is amongst the highest in the world. We are grateful for the good cooperation we have had with Balexco and look forward to further accelerate the growth in the years to come.” Hydro has inked an agreement to acquire Balexco’s 50 percent ownership in TME. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019. With this transaction, Hydro will own 100 percent of the company. Established in 2000, TME was a joint venture...

Japan’s UACJ Corporation has signed an agreement with China-based CITIC Group Corporation to form a JV with two CITIC Group subsidiaries, CITIC Bohai Aluminum Industries and CITIC Dicastal that make aluminium automotive components. The joint venture company will manufacture and sale extruded aluminium parts and components for automobiles. The new company will begin operation with manufacturing of vehicle bumpers and battery casings, using UACJ Group’s machining technologies and research and development teams at its R&D Center. The company will have the support of the CITIC Dicastal’s leading presence in China’s auto parts market as the world’s number-one producer of automotive aluminium wheels. The new company will serve as a supply center for automakers and auto parts manufacturers in...

ExtrudaSeal will showcase its new products and gaskets and extrusions range at Fit Show 2019. The company will display new flush e-gasket and wedge on the 21-23rd May 2019 at the NEC, Birmingham. ExtrudaSeal launched new flush low-line e-gasket and wedge for aluminium bi-folding and inline sliding door systems last year. The gasket is “designed to maximise glass area, providing a flush finish that lines up with the putty-line, rather than up to 5mm of the glass. This helps to create new symmetry in low sightline doors and provides a much more aesthetically pleasing finish”. Flush e-gasket also features a tear-away strip. This helps to reduce the depth of the gasket by 1mm. “This design helps by accommodating variances in the depth of IGUs, the company said. At the last two Fit Show...

The 10% tariffs on imported aluminium imposed by Trump administration in March 2018 has cut down on the import, especially from China and Russia. Total aluminium import by the US dropped 10% from 2017 to 6.2 million tonnes in 2018. Japanese aluminium product manufacturers are now focusing on expanding production at their US facilities to leverage on higher domestic prices, driven by the tariffs and a tight market. UACJ Corporation, one of the leading rolled aluminium product manufacturers in the world and the largest in Japan last year dissolved a struggling aluminium parts joint venture in the U.S. with Constellium. The company is now planning to have an independent re-entry in the strong market. The company has invested 18 billion yen in a Kentucky factory to increase production of...

Followed by a breakthrough of RMB 300 per tonne last Friday, spot aluminium premiums in south China extended gains today, on March 25, Shanghai Metals Market found. In Shanghai, premiums over the front-month April contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange hovered between RMB 320 per tonne and RMB 340 per tonne, compared with RMB 310 per tonne to RMB 330 per tonne on Friday, SMM learned. Spot transactions were seen at RMB 13,950 per tonne to RMB 13,970 per tonne, down some RMB 60 per tonne from last Friday. Spot transactions in Wuxi mostly occurred at RMB 13,950 per tonne to RMB 13,970 per tonne while that in Hangzhou at RMB 13,990 per tonne to RMB 14,010 per tonne this morning. Spot aluminium premiums stood above RMB 330 per tonne in early morning trade but dipped in later trade as smelters...

According to the latest report from US Geological Survey, the US primary aluminium production in December 2018 was 95,000 tonnes. The average daily production in December was 3,050 tonnes, 4% more than that in November 2018, 48% more than that in December 2017. The total aluminium production in 2018 stood at 891,000 tonnes, about 20% more from 741,000 tonnes in 2017. The restarting of operations by Alcoa and Century Aluminum contributed to the increase. Recycled aluminium still continued to contribute a major part of total aluminium supply in the US. Total aluminium recovered from scrap in December 2018 was 285,000 tonnes, 4% less than that in November 2018 but slightly more than that in December 2017. The total scrap recovery in 2018 stood at 3.6 million tonnes in 2018, essentially...

According to the latest data from China Customs, China’s alumina exports in February came in at 3,443 tonnes, after declining 139,000 tonnes from January. This data represents that China’s alumina exports in January 2019 had pegged at 142,443 tonnes. {newsStudioGallery} China Customs data found that alumina exports by China had been declining over a past couple of months. The exports in January were 34,987 tonnes or 20 per cent lower than 177,430 tonnes in December, which again was 37.9 per cent down from 285,696 tonnes in November. China’s alumina exports in February stood lower not only month-on-month but from a year earlier by 10.5 per cent. In February 2019, China’s domestic average alumina price was at US$413.78 per tonne while the global average price at US$378.61 per tonne. In...

Dada Holdings LLC, an investment and management company based in Florida and the new owner of Noranda Bauxite and Noranda Alumina has recently announced the appointment of Dan Byrne as its Director of Strategy and Investor Relations. Mr. Byrne will be based at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the company headquarter. Mr. Byrne joined Dada Holdings after working with J.P. Morgan for five years in its institutional wealth management group. Mr. Byrne has a degree in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “We are always looking to complement our experienced senior management team with hardworking and talented individuals to continue to drive the further expansion of our business and ensure continuity,” said Chairman...

Social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, declined over the weekend on improved downstream consumption. Social inventories of primary aluminium stood at 1.69 million tonnes as of Monday March 25. Inventories dropped some 44,000 tonnes from Thursday March 21, Shanghai Metals Market data showed. The chart below indicates the current status of the primary aluminium inventories across China. Inventories in major Chinese cities fell over the weekend. Stocks in Wuxi, Jiangsu and Shanghai dropped 14,000 tonnes and 6,000 tonnes from Thursday March 21, to 605,000 tonnes and 305,000 tonnes on Monday March 25. Inventories in Nanhai, Guangdong stood at 394,000 tonnes. This was down 15,000 tonnes from Thursday March 21. Stocks in Gongyi,...

The US dollar climbed in last Friday's trading, as investors grappled with an inverted US Treasury yield curve. Base metals declined across the board and both LME and SHFE aluminium edged down. As the US dollar jumped, LME aluminium dipped to a low of US$1,880 per tonne on Friday night and tested support from the 60-day moving average. It rebounded and settled at US$1,902 per tonne. LME aluminium is expected to trade at US$1,840-1,940 per tonne today. As on March 22, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1866.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1867 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1893 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1893.50 per tonne; Dec 20 bid price stands at US$ 2023 per tonne, and Dec 19 offer price stands at US$ 2028 per tonne. The LME...

Shanghai Metals Market found commercial used prebaked anode prices across China to likely extend its decline in April on weaker demand. With sufficient inventories, most aluminium producers had been found purchasing prebaked anode cautiously. Prebaked anode stocks at a large aluminium producer currently stand at over 30 days, SMM learned. Meanwhile, carbon producers struggled to lower their inventories of the prebaked anode and for doing so, some carbon producers even went ahead and lowered offers below market prices so that more and more aluminium producers indulge in buying their cargoes. Moreover, environmental probes remained strict in the two consecutive sessions, resulting in some carbon producers in Shandong and Henan to cut production as they failed to meet emission standards....

The average Bauxite (6.0≤Al/Si<7.0) price in Henan dropped RMB20 per tonne to stand at RMB530 per tonne on Monday, 25 March 2019. The average price is expected to range between RMB510-550 per tonne, as updated by Shanghai Metals Market. The average Bauxite (4.5≤Al/Si<5.5) price stood at RMB440 per tonne, down RMB20 per tonne and 4.35 per cent from RMB460 per tonne. The average price is expected to range between RMB400-480 per tonne. Prices of bauxite remain unchanged in all the three major China markets (Shanxi, Guangxi and Guizhou). Australian alumina FOB price increased from USD398 per tonne to USD406 per tonne on Monday, representing an increase of USD8 per tonne or 2.01 per cent. The average A00 aluminium ingot price declined RMB50 per tonne or 0.36 per cent on Monday, 25 March 2019....